The 2025 Veterans Manufacturing and Innovation Showcase brought together inventors, business leaders, and innovators at Harbor Designs and Manufacturing in Baltimore. Hosted by the Mid-Atlantic Veterans Business Outreach Center (VBOC) and the Maryland Small Business Development Center (MDSBDC), the day offered resources, panels, and inspiring stories of perseverance that moved participants to tears.
“I didn’t think I would get emotional,” the man said, as he wiped away a stray tear.
I stood across from Sherwood Mackel, retired landscaper turned inventor. Mackel created Gripz, an adaptive device that allows people with osteoarthritis to continue enjoying activities that require dexterity. He attended the conference seeking insight and the chance to network with other manufacturers and resource partners. What he ultimately learned moved and motivated him in a way he never imagined.
Innovation and Legacy: Honoring Dr. James West
In addition to a powerful manufacturing business-to-business and subject matter expert panel featuring representatives from the Department of Commerce, The US Patent and Trademark Office, and Prince George’s County Economic Development Authority. The event also paid tribute to Dr. James West, keynote speaker and inventor with more than 250 patents and member of the Inventor’s Hall of Fame (1999). Born in 1931 Farmville Virginia, West grew up in the Jim Crow south where there were no real examples of people who looked like him in STEM fields, so he was strongly discouraged from pursuing his passion of engineering and innovation. Thankfully, his mother, who worked at Langley as a human computer (think Hidden Figures), was both an example of what was possible and of the challenges he would face. She encouraged her young son to persevere.
Thankfully he did, and years later at Bell Labs, Dr. West invented the electret microphone, a type of condenser that uses a permanently charged material to convert sound into an electrical signal. West’s invention is used in a wide range of applications, including smartphones, laptops, hearing aids, professional audio equipment, security systems, telephones, and medical devices. At 94, Dr. West continues to innovate and received a patent for his newest invention, an auto-diagnosing stethoscope. In addition to being the event keynote speaker, West was presented with the Governor’s citation for his contributions to science and technology.
As Dr. West’s story illustrated, innovation is not just about technology—it’s about tenacity. That spirit carried through the rest of the day’s programming, from the manufacturing panels to the powerful conversation that followed.
Courage and Grit: The Fireside Chat
The event culminated in a powerful, emotionally charged fireside chat. The conversation was a no-holds-barred look at the good, the bad, and the ugly side of pursuing your passion. The room was alive with raw honesty as entrepreneurs shared their battles and breakthroughs. The panel included Donta Henson, founder of Los Hermanos Tequila, a Baltimore based brand who talked about his struggles to find funding despite growing popularity and winning over 44 international awards in just a few short years; Terrika Knox, who developed Herb and Orchid, a luxury non-alcoholic beverage, after a brush with alcoholism that almost ruined her family; Chester France, owner of Lifting Labels whose commitment to helping the formerly incarcerated gain marketable skills to earn an honest living; and Dr. Elizabeth Claybourne an ER doctor and inventor of NasaClip, a hands-free external nasal compression device designed to quickly stop nosebleeds and allow patients to get on with their day. Each story resonated, but Claybourne’s struck a nerve. The world was in the throes of the COVID-19 pandemic, she was working in the ER, pregnant with her second child, and preparing for the “big pitch” when she learned, without warning, that her marriage was suddenly over. But like many small inventors, she didn’t have time to stop and stress. She powered through and persevered. Today, her product, manufactured and fulfilled at Harbor, is endorsed and used by hospitals, cruise lines, amusement parks, and major airlines across the nation.
“It’s not about where you start,” said Terrika Knox, founder of Herb and Orchid. “It’s about what you build from your story.”
Representation Matters: A Lasting Message
As Mistress of Ceremony, I watched veterans, inventors, and dreamers connect over shared experiences of resilience. As the day ended, I stood quietly while Mackel collected himself, obviously surprised and somewhat bewildered by his own reaction to the day’s events. Finally, he spoke, “I sing in a band,” he said, his eyes still glistening with moisture. “And to think that each time I perform, I’m holding a microphone that contains an element invented by someone who looks like me, fills me with such pride. Hearing Dr. West’s story of perseverance is the motivation I need to keep going.”
The day was many things — inspiring, emotional, and affirming — but above all, it reminded us that representation matters.
Glenna Cush is the Director for the Maryland Small Business Development Center and founder of Maker to Mogul, an organization providing coaching and community to women makers and creatives in Maryland. For information about the VBOC, visit https://midatlanticvboc.com/ and for the SBDC, visit https://www.marylandsbdc.org/